Bush says he'll push for more lenient immigration laws

RON HUTCHESONKnight Ridder Newspapers

Published Thursday, March 24, 2005

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President George W. Bush, center, listens to remarks by Mexico's President Vicente Fox, left, with Canada's Prime Minister Paul Martin at right, during a joint news conference following their summit meeting at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, Wednesday, March 23, 2005. Relations have been strained between the U.S. and its closest neighbors and two biggest trading partners with trade, security and immigration issues as points of contention.

AP Photo WACO, Texas -- President Bush told Mexican President Vicente Fox on Wednesday that he would keep pushing for more lenient immigration laws, but said he couldn't guarantee that Congress would go along.

Bush renewed his commitment to a guest-worker program during a daylong summit with Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. The leaders pledged to work together on a host of issues, but they acknowledged some of the differences that have strained relations in the past.

Bush's failure to win congressional approval for more lenient immigration laws has been a sore point with Fox.

"You've got my pledge -- I'll continue working on it," Bush told Fox during a joint news conference here at Baylor University. "You don't have my pledge that Congress will act because I'm not a member of the legislative branch."

Bush's guest-worker plan would let several million immigrants who are in the country illegally become legal by getting temporary work visas. The idea has stalled in Congress because of opposition from both parties.

Some Republicans oppose Bush's call for more open borders. Some Democrats think Bush is more concerned about providing cheap labor for businesses than he is about making life easier for foreign workers.

A study released earlier this week concluded that the illegal immigrant population has reached an all-time high of nearly 11 million. The study by the Pew Hispanic Center, a private research group based in Washington, also found that undocumented Mexicans accounted for 57 percent of all illegal entrants.

Bush said his goal is to match workers with jobs.

"That job ought to be filled on a legal basis, no matter where the person comes from. That makes sense," Bush said. The president also echoed Fox's criticism of citizen groups in border states that seek to catch and detain illegal immigrants entering the United States.

"I'm against vigilantes," Bush said. "That's why you got a border patrol, and they ought to be in charge of enforcing the border."

After their news conference, Fox and Martin joined Bush at his 1,600-acre ranch in nearby Crawford.